How Bad Could It Be?
by Moana Fan Girl
Summary: April goes into the Truffula forest to see the Once-ler, her childhood friend. But when his Thneed begins to sell and the Once-ler becomes greedy, will April be able to get the old Once-ler back? Or will her attempts fail? Rated T just in case.


April was a 20 year old who was looking for her childhood friend, The Once-ler. She hadn't seen him in a while, and ever since he moved away from his parents' house in Dustville, she was curious as to where he was now, so she set off to find him, taking her stuff with her.

After getting some lunch in the town, she headed on her way to find the Once-ler. She missed him so much and wanted to spend more time with him. He was her only best friend and she didn't really have any friends.

Like Oncie she didn't make very many friends, so she and the Once-ler only had each other as friends. April heard about a forest inhabited by Bar-ba-Loots - creatures that looked very much like bears - and some Swommee Swans - orangish-yellow bird creatures that can fly - and also some Singing/Humming Fish.

She also heard that Truffula trees grew there, and they were the food sources for the Bar-ba-Loots since the trees grew fruit called Truffula Fruit.

As she headed on her way, she looked at her map and followed the directions to the forest.

 _Now where could Oncie be?_ She thought to herself, _I mean, he has to be somewhere in the forest! He mentioned something about a Thneed and I think he mentioned Truffula tree tufts being needed for the making of these things. So he has to be here!_

After contemplating where the Once-ler could be, she bumped into something hard and let out an "Oof!"

As she looked up, she noticed a wagon, with a mule hooked up to it that seemed to not notice her. It seemed to be busy eating grass to even notice her.

"Hello?" April decided to ask, glancing around with her dark blue eyes, "Anyone here?"

"Who's there?" She heard a voice ask, and it sounded a bit familiar.

"O-Oncie?" April asked, becoming curious as she came around to the front of the wagon.

Sure enough, the Once-ler was there, looking ready to chop down a tree with pink tufts at the top. She heard him humming the song he sang that had failed a few days earlier when the town thought Thneeds were useless.

"O-Oncie..." April said almost in a whisper, not being able to help but notice a Bar-ba-Loot sitting next to the tree eating a Truffula Fruit.

The Once-ler didn't seem to notice as he tried to determine where to chop the tree at.

"Oncie, it's me." April said a bit louder, ensuring that the Once-ler heard her.

He seemed to stop mid-swing upon hearing her voice, wondering if the voice could be his childhood friend, so he put the axe down on the ground as he turned around, a look of curiosity on his face.

"A-April..." He muttered, the look on his face still having the look of curiosity, "W-What brings you here?"

April smiled before taking a step forward with a smile.

"I'm just here to see you, Oncie." April admitted, still smiling before a slight blush appeared on her face, "I missed you."

 _And boy, does he look cute._ She thought before realizing she was blushing slightly, and then shook the thought, _Wait, what? He can't be that cute, can he?_

As a small smile crept onto the Once-ler's face, April had second thoughts.

 _Okay, he is kinda cute!_ She thought, giving in to her emotions.

"April, I... I missed you _so_ much!" He said as he walked over to her, his arms out as if he was going to hug her, his smile becoming slightly bigger, "You have no idea-"

"I bet I do." April said with a giggle, interrupting him as he hugged her.

As April was being hugged, she couldn't help but smell the scent of butterfly milk on his clothes.

"You've been making Thneeds again, haven't you?" She asked, not being able to help but keep sniffing in the scent of the trees that was now on the Once-ler, "You smell good."

"Heh, thanks." The Once-ler said, a small smile on his face as he gently pulled away, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm just a good-smelling guy I suppose."

April giggled.

"You bet you are." She agreed, trying to sound less flirty than how she felt so as to not creep him out, "Not trying to be flirty or anything..." She shyly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well you are kinda cute." Oncie said as he bent down to pick up his axe, April blushing at his compliment.

"Y-You too." April said, trying to hide her blush, "I-I mean, in a friendly way."

She smiled sheepishly at him, Once-ler already standing up with the axe over his shoulder, glancing at her with his sky blue eyes, his right side being closer to the tree as he held the axe in his right hand, April being on his left.

April blushed, finding him cuter that way.

 _Will he stop looking at me like that?_ She thought, trying hard not to blush harder than she already was, _I mean okay Oncie, you're cute... But can you please stop already?_

"What?" Oncie asked as he looked at her, looking slightly confused.

 _Crud..._ April thought, _He noticed me staring at him._

"Are you okay April?" Once-ler asked, "You're looking a little red in the cheeks there. You catching a fever or something?"

"Uh, no... I'm just-"

"Please don't tell me you're-" He interrupted himself as he realized what April just said. "Wait did you just say no?"

"Yeah." April said, giggling at the Once-ler's mistake, "I'm just, you know..."

"Blushing?" Once-ler then asked her, smiling one of his small smiles which April loved.

"Y-Yeah, I guess you could say that." April said, knowing that she could no longer try to hide her blush since Oncie already saw it, "I mean, I don't know why, but...I just can't help but blush around you."

"So, you wanna help me chop down some trees?" Once-ler asked her, "I can teach you how to work with an axe."

"No thanks." April said, digging in the back of the wagon before pulling out a bag of marshmallows, "I mean, thanks but I don't really chop down trees." As she finished speaking, she ripped open the big pink bag as she sat on the back of the wagon, causing just a few marshmallows to fly into the air.

As the marshmallows came back down, she opened her mouth to try and catch one, the marshmallow missing her mouth and bouncing off her chin to her lap.

As she looked down, she saw a small Bar-ba-Loot standing there in a begging position, hearing Oncie laughing at her failed catch.

She glared playfully at Oncie and even considered throwing the marshmallow at him, but she decided not to start a marshmallow war and just gave it to the Bar-ba-Loot.

"Here ya go, little fella." She said, holding the marshmallow out to the creature as it stepped forward and gently took it before nibbling it.

The other marshmallows were already eaten by the other Bar-ba-Loots, and April sighed with a smile.

"Hey nice catch." Oncie teased, sitting next to her with his left arm around her shoulder, his right hand resting on the handle of his axe, the axe's head planted on the ground.

April playfully rolled her eyes as she grabbed a marshmallow from the bag and decided to flick it at his face.

"Nice catch Oncie." She teased with a giggle after the marshmallow bounced off him.

Oncie picked the marshmallow up from the bumper from his wagon before quickly eating it.

"Oncie..." April said with a smile, stifling a giggle.

"What?" Once-ler asked, giving her the same slightly confused look he gave her earlier after he caught her staring at him, the chewed-up marshmallow in his mouth.

"You ate the marshmallow off the bumper?" She asked, now glancing at him with just her eyes, still smiling.

"Yeah. Why?" Oncie asked, giving her a look as if to ask "Is that wrong?"

"No." April said, grabbing a few marshmallows from the bag, "I used to eat off the ground when I was little." She then stuffed them into her mouth.

"Wow, greedy much?" Once-ler joked after seeing her stuff the marshmallows in her mouth.

"I just like marshmallows, okay?" April asked, covering her mouth as she spoke to hide the food in her mouth, "But I also like them better toasted. Especially on S'mores."

"Oh, S'mores..." Once-ler sighed with a smile, resting his head on the back of his wagon, looking up slightly at the sky, "I love S'mores."

"No offense Oncie, but how do you stay skinny if you like pancakes, marshmallows and stuff?" April asked him, looking at him with a smile.

"Oh, says the girl who's thin but can eat a lot." Oncie said, playfully rolling his eyes, "I mean, you eat a lot and stay thin, so why can't I?"

"Well it's just my metabolism, that's why." April mentioned, looking down at the bag of marshmallows, "So I'm guessing it's all that tree chopping, isn't it?" She asked that playfully as she smirked at him, her smirk also being playful.

"Oh thanks for reminding me." Once-ler said, getting up from the bumper of his wagon and carrying his axe with him, "I gotta chop down this tree."

"Uh, you're welcome...?" April said as she saw Oncie beginning to once again determine where to chop the tree at before remembering where he was going to originally chop it.


End file.
